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despise

[dih-spahyz] / dɪˈspaɪz /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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Co-signers include the Open Markets Institute, an anti-monopoly advocacy and research group in Washington that tends to despise Big Tech, and the Writer’s Guild.

From MarketWatch Jul. 14, 2026

He didn’t have much reason to despise Cornyn, beyond a stray comment here or there.

From Slate May 30, 2026

But it has also triggered an unexpected wave of nostalgia, with some Delhi residents expressing affection for a place they often claimed to despise.

From BBC May 25, 2026

“As I understand ‘The View,’ which I despise, that’s what they do.

From Salon May 13, 2026

But let me not hate and despise myself too much for these feelings; I know them to be wrong—that is a great step gained; I shall strive to overcome them.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

There are few things Friedman despises more than a deadline trade.

From Los Angeles Times May 19, 2026

But Donio isn’t giving up his 2020 Audi A4, which he enjoys despite it having the feature he despises.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 3, 2026

“I am thrilled about that. That makes me qualified to be homeland security secretary and senior adviser to the president,” referring to Noem and Stephen Miller, whom Tillis also despises.

From Slate Jan. 31, 2026

Cicero, who despises Catalina for his reckless idealism, is one of many characters trying to bring the architect to heel.

From New York Times May 16, 2024

After all, in many respects, they are simply doing what black people did during the Jim Crow era—they are turning to each other for support and solace in a society that despises them.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

It’s about understanding that that the removal of a single despised figurehead isn’t enough.

From Salon May 8, 2026

He despised the way Mauldin portrayed the soldiers and thought it gave the world an unflattering picture of the troops.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 5, 2026

Hamilton despised those with “no principle but to get money.”

From Barron's Mar. 1, 2026

Part of Lord Mandelson's mystique - and one of the reasons why he is despised by some in the Labour movement - is his love of political intrigue, gossip and plots.

From BBC Feb. 3, 2026

And so quick were my thoughts, that I saw myself despised by unborn generations,—Estella’s children, and their children,—while the wretch’s words were yet on his lips.

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

He is described as a man who had “poked his chin up sideways, carrying his nose with that aforesaid appearance of ‘sniff,’ as though despising an egg which he knew he could not digest.”

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 3, 2026

Society is depicted as "worshiping only power and money, despising art, sensitivity, tenderness, where people ...don't talk anymore."

From Barron's Apr. 3, 2026

"It's astonishing how people can put so much vitriol and energy into despising someone. It's extraordinarily damaging," she says of the most bitter sibling rivalry.

From BBC Feb. 10, 2024

Instead of establishing a succession plan, he continued taunting and goading his children into hating each other and despising him.

From Salon Apr. 10, 2023

“We started off on each other’s nerves. We ended up despising each other. But that was a long time ago.”

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson




Vocabulary lists containing despise


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